Page 34 of Destroy Me
Have to quit doing that.
“Stop being a dickhead, Fionn,” Deacon barked. His anger should’ve been a balm to her pride, but really, she wasn’t sure she had any left.
Suck it up, Lyse. Get rid of the pain, then face him.
She wasn’t here for Fionn, no matter what her libido might be screaming. She was here for Siobhan, the woman who’d shown her nothing but kindness. In the long, sleepless hours of the night, an idea had come to her, one she thought could help solve this once and for all.
The back door opened before she could speak. Mack strode inside, a deep frown slashing across his face.
“What’s the story, Mack?” Fionn asked.
“Nothin’ good.”
The look Fionn gave Mack said he wasn’t surprised. Neither was Lyse. Mack had spent all night at the interrogation, and she knew from working with Global First that men like their suspect were one of two things: close-lipped or ignorant. The man in custody had given up too quickly to be the former.
“Compartmentalization keeps your organization secure when things like this happen,” Deacon said. “If the grunts don’t know anything, they can’t spill it during interrogations.”
“They didn’t know you were with us, Fionn,” Siobhan said, tone thoughtful—working a puzzle in her mind. “They thought I’d be an easy grab with only Mack for protection.”
Fionn nodded. “That’s my guess. They’ll know better next time.”
“They’ll be more careful,” Siobhan said.
“They’ll send more men,” Mack said.
Fionn frowned at Mack. He probably would’ve kept that bit from his mother, but Mack wasn’t like that. “She needs to know, Fionn,” Mack said, crossing the room to gather Siobhan against his side. “Keeping her in the dark won’t keep her from being scared. Or taken.”
“Definitely don’t keep me in the dark,” Siobhan agreed. “I can’t fight what I don’t know. What I’m not seeing is, why? Why come after me? I don’t know anything about the money your father stole; I never have. Neither do you. The police investigation after Robert’s death cleared us both.”
“Ferrina isn’t honest; he’s a mob boss, Mam. He’s not going to assume we aren’t hiding anything.”
Siobhan’s grip on Mack tightened; Lyse could see her knuckles going white from across the room. “So what do we do?”
“We’ll keep you safe,acushla. I promise you,” Mack said, his mouth against the top of her head. “That’s why Deacon and King are here. We’ll keep you safe.”
“So you got nothing from the interrogation then?” Fionn asked.
“Nothing.” Mack’s voice was deep, grim. Angry. “We did get something from Aileen McCray, though.”
Siobhan glanced up so quickly her head knocked into Mack’s chin. “What happened?”
Mack’s gaze met hers for a long moment, and Lyse could see the war going on inside him—how much to tell, maybe. Siobhan wouldn’t be kept in the dark, but whatever Mack had seen, it was bad. “She didn’t report for her shift this morn.” He turned to the men. “Aileen is a junior garda, one of our most recent hires. When she didn’t arrive, we sent someone out to her place to check. She’d—” He stopped, swallowed hard. “She’d been beaten.”
Siobhan cried out, the sound echoing Lyse’s shock. She knew Aileen, had sat in the pub and drank with her. The young woman was Lyse’s age, had a daughter who wasn’t in school yet.
“Was Kyla hurt?” Lyse asked.
“We haven’t found her yet,” Mack admitted. “I questioned Aileen at the hospital; she said Ferrina’s men took Kyla yesterday morning, warning her to do what they said or they’d harm the girl. We’re looking now, but…”
“She failed to give them accurate information,” Fionn said.
“She did. Through no fault of her own.” Mack swiped a rough hand down his face. “They showed up during the night. When she argued with them, demanded her daughter back— Well, they weren’t up for taking it kindly.”
Lyse set her fork down on the edge of her plate. She couldn’t stomach another bite, not with the graphic images filling her head. She knew the fear of being blackmailed, knew the sick worry that had driven Aileen to share information.
“I’ve talked to a couple of sources,” Mack was saying, “but no one will be daring to come forward now. Ferrina’s made his intentions clear.”
“And where does that leave us?” Deacon asked. “We need a plan if we’re going to beat this guy.”
